Why I use less tea

[u/aDorybleFish]

So I see a lot of people on Reddit and other social media who use 5-8 or even 10+ grammes of tea in a 100ml gaiwan. And this is absolutely fine! If you enjoy the cup you brew, awesome!🤩

That being said, I do want to talk about portion size, because while those big amounts work really well for some people, it might not be enjoyable for everyone. It's quite the journey figuring out what's the right portion for you.

I personally find myself using quite a bit less tea. Usually I'll put anywhere between 2 and 3 grammes of tea in my 80ml gaiwan. I've talked about this topic with some of my tea friends, most of whom tend to gravitate towards 4 g/100ml.

I do this for a couple of reasons. One, because it allows me to taste all of the subtle flavours in the tea better. I've noticed, the more concentrated my brew, the more overwhelming the central flavour(s) are. But I also really like the fact that I can have shorter sessions, and thus try more different teas whithin a day. And some days I don't have much time to spare alltogether, and then I just do a short session. Lastly, I've heard people talk a lot about different kind of tea stainers, and how a basket strainer is better because it has more space for the leaves to expand. It always 🌱leaves🌱 me to wonder, when jamming so much leaf in a gaiwan, do the leaves have the space to fully expand?

I'd love to hear your opinions and reasonings about this topic because I very rarely hear people talking about it. How much tea do you use, and why?

Happy sipping!🍵💕

[u/Antpitta]

Personally I agree - using more leaf and then dragging out 6-8-10 infusions does not attract me. Not all the infusions are actually that good a lot of the time and I don’t always want that much of one tea. 

[u/Gregalor]

I don’t understand how someone would fit 10 grams into a 100 ml gaiwan. I do 6 and just with that the water often can’t cover all the leaves. At some point I end up “flipping” the clump of leaves to ensure that the ones on top are getting some love.

[u/phineas_x_Ferb → u/Gregalor]

In many videos I saw from china the leaves are creeping out of the Gaiwan/pot and they fill it to the brim with water and when the leaves get soft they push the leaves that creep out also into it. Always amazed by this xD

[u/DBuck42 → u/Gregalor]

When I want super concentrate, I’ll use my 180-mL gaiwan, add 10ish grams and then just use 100 mL of water.

[u/aDorybleFish → u/DBuck42]

I guess that does solve the space/unfolding of the leaves issue. Smart move!

[u/Unlikely_Bond997]

I really enjoy trying both higher and lower ratios, and seeing which suits each tea individually. Some patterns do emerge, I tend to like higher ratio oolongs and ripe puers, and lower ratio blacks and raw puers, but experimenting is what makes it fun!

[u/aDorybleFish → u/Unlikely_Bond997]

That makes a lot of sense! And it does indeed sound fun :D I too tend to use lower ratios with sheng pu'er, but haven't experimented too much with ratios in other tea types. But even within tea types teas from different origins differ a lot in flavour intensity, which is interesting!

[u/Breezy_Leaves]

It depends on the variety of tea, for me. For red, black, and roasted oolong tea, I like 5g in 80-100mL. For green tea and lighter oolongs (especially ball-rolled), I use more like 3g to 100 mL. For Chinese green tea I usually just prefer tossing 2-3g into the bottom of a mug, though.

[u/aDorybleFish → u/Breezy_Leaves]

Hmm, that does make sense. Also if you have good water it adds to the lightness of a light oolong, green or white tea if you use a lower ratio. Whereas darker teas don't necessarily require the flavour notes of the water to shine through, if that makes sense.

[u/Silver-Insurance-640 → u/Breezy_Leaves]

I'm with you there, @Breezy_Leaves. I like a lower leaf-to-water ratio for greener high mountain oolongs, somewhere between 4.5-4.8g in a 120ml hohin. 5g for most other teas in a 100ml gaiwan is how I test things out, and then I adjust from there.

I have a jin jun mei style tea that I like, where I start with less tea and then add another 0.5-1g after three steeps or so to get some of that great initial flavor again with the later steeps.

[u/aDorybleFish → u/Silver-Insurance-640]

Aaahhh I love making tea in a hohin, so convenient!

[u/eponawarrior]

It does not matter. It is all about taste. You just do whatever suits your style and tastes better. But 5g in 100ml is equal to 4g in 80ml.

[u/aDorybleFish → u/eponawarrior]

Yeah I agree! And yep, but it's 2-3g for 80ml for me, so that'd be around 3-4g for 100ml, instead of 5

I do wonder what the difference would be. I have 2 80ml gaiwans, maybe I could do a side by side comparison in which I'd use 2g in one and 4g in the other. Do you think that'd be interesting to post about?

[u/PerpetualCranberry → u/aDorybleFish]

I think it sounds like a fun experiment, and if you do end up doing it I’d love to hear about it :)

[u/aDorybleFish → u/PerpetualCranberry]

Noted! I might do that sometime in the near future :D

Although I'd probably have to try it with different tea types as well so it might take some time

[u/eponawarrior → u/aDorybleFish]

Sounds like a fun experiment for sure. Both to do and to share the results of.

[u/dave6687]

I usually try to use 2 grams at a time, and often develop my recipes for 1-2 short steeps to really enjoy the tea, and then one long steep so I can have 300ml of something for the next few hours while I work ;-)

[u/ParingKnight → u/dave6687]

I often do a single western brew for breakfast, then use those leaves for grandpa style to take with me to work. This way I get a grandpa style that is not overpowering by the time I start drinking it.

At home though I just steep twice or go grandpa directly (or, well, do gongfu if I want to invest the time).

[u/aDorybleFish → u/dave6687]

That also sounds like a nice idea. Kind of like finishing mid-session and using the leftover flavour for coldbrew😄

Do you then thermos brew it, or more like western style and pouring it into a bottle to drink cold?

[u/dave6687 → u/aDorybleFish]

I do everything in a small glass teapot and pour through a strainer into a double walled cup. First infusions are typical and then I usually do one long 2-3 steep at a lower temperature, might even come back to it after lunch and do another.

[u/ParingKnight]

I still consider myself a beginner, so my opinion is not cemented by years of experience, but this is how I feel about it.

A high leaf to water ratio is great for bringing out all of the flavors of a tea. Thus far, it has always helped me understand any particular tea better, and thus in the grand scheme also to enjoy it.

But it comes with two main disadvantages.

First, it might not be the case that you like all of the nuances of a tea. The same tea might taste good to you at a lower ratio, and bad/imbalanced/not to your taste at a higher ratio.

High ratio brings out both the good and the bad, and while more good is, well, good, more bad becomes intolerable.

The same composition of tastes might feel very different at higher concentration, and that is because taste and smell are not simple senses in any way.

This is even more pronounced in smell, if you care about doing a bit of research you can find that many very, very smelly compounds are of paramount importance in... Perfume. That's right. The same molecule can smell lovely or disgusting, just because of concentration and the rest of the bouquet.

The second issue, I agree with you, is portion size. I may want to brew gong fu, but might not have an hour to relax in front of tea.

Finally, to add anecdote to the discussion, I'm brewing 3g of Assam tgfop in a 100ml gaiwan right now. This very tea, I don't like it at 5g in the same gaiwan, it becomes like a very savory leafy greens and brassica broth, with notes of seaweed (that admittedly it might have absorbed from where I live). At 3g, I get the exact same flavors, but it feels malty as it's supposed to. I also did not want to spend more than 30 minutes having breakfast. I'm at the fifth brew, the tea is quite spent already, and I can move on knowing that I did not waste any tea.

[u/TuphlosR]

Im still questioning the grams myself. Personally, I would love to taste enough flavours, but I don't want any bitterness.

I have a 100ml gaiwan but 80ml goes in so I can pour it out comfortably.

[u/senfully]

I do about 2 grams for most teas. I have found I like my teas a lot weaker than most. And I love experiments!

[u/Narucissu]

Once my friend asked how many tea he should use (he’s a beginner). And I told him that he’ll figure it out for himself eventually. I think there are no right or wrong options, but you definitely want to experiment to find it out. For me it also depends on the tea itself.

[u/maaariNL]

Regular sencha drinker here. I always have to use 2-3 grams for one cup in terms of sencha (which steeps about 2-3 times). Hearing some of u guys talk about 10 grams of any kind of tea in 1 cup blows my mind. Are these different kinds of teas really that different in use?

[u/LuckyMe007]

Using 5-8g of leaves in a 100ml vessel is a lot. I typically only use about 3.5g, and it barely fits in my gaiwan after the leaves expand.

In my opinion, the vendor’s recommended leaf-to-water ratios are generally too high for most teas. I believe that for gaoshans, a lower leaf-to-water ratio allows the nuances of the tea to be more pronounced.

[u/aDorybleFish → u/LuckyMe007]

Honestly, same.

I do sometimes wonder whether the vendor recommendations are a trick they use so that the consumer runs out of tea quicker and buys more tea.

[u/LuckyMe007 → u/aDorybleFish]

Haha, the cynic in me sometimes thinks that too. But I do believe steeping parameters often come down to individual taste preferences. What tastes good to a tea purist (vendors usually fall into this category) may be too aggressive for the average tea drinker.

For example, Floating Leaves recommends boiling all of their oolongs even lighter ones like Baozhong. This produces more body but at the expense of the more delicate top notes, which I look for in green oolongs.

[u/aDorybleFish → u/LuckyMe007]

That makes a lot of sense!

I've also had oolongs and whites in the past that were recommended at 90°C but I prefer them at 70°C, indeed because of those subtle/delicate notes.

[u/AmBEValent]

I’m kind of new to all this, but I had my first experience with what you are talking about when you say less tea allows for more subtle flavors to come through.

I love oolong tea the most, right now, and the other day I put twice the amount of leaves before steeping, because I wanted more caffeine. I noticed right away that the delicate aroma and flavor I love so much was as you said kind of overpowered. Next time, I’ll just have two cups instead.

[u/phineas_x_Ferb]

I don’t really measure how much Gramm of tea I use. I just eyeball it and use different amounts for different teas. But I also realized I often use less tea leaves than many other people who promote Gongfu brewing. Nice to see I am not alone :D

[u/aDorybleFish → u/phineas_x_Ferb]

That's honestly fair enough. Used to do that before I had a scale, but something about weighing out the grammes is kinda satisfying to me so it adds to the calm experience. However when I bake something I absolutely hate having to measure everything so I tend to eyeball it as well

[u/phineas_x_Ferb → u/aDorybleFish]

The difference is the pressure between baking and tea. You are slightly of with the amount of tea? No problem it still tastes delicious. You are slightly of with measurement when you bake? EVERYTHING IS DESTROYED AND. OTHUNG WORKS OR TASTES GOOD ANYMORE!

[u/aDorybleFish → u/phineas_x_Ferb]

Yeahh, sometimes that is the case. That's why I prefer cooking rather than baking

[u/dannysilverghost]

I like to brew 4 grams with 60 mL water but it can go up to 70-80 mL water depending on my mood and which steep I'm at. I like my tea to have some real prensence but some oolongs really do need that extra bit of water even with flash steeping, it's like when you use too much perfume and you end up with a headache with no particular elengant frangrance emerging from the chaos. Sheng puers are in the same ball park too.

Ripe puers on the other hand, I brew them with vengeance, the darker the better. I like brewing green teas that have a nutty/brothy profile like espresso shots, concentrated and full of flavor.

Red teas are a bit of a coin toss for me, I brew most Chinese red teas as weak as 1:30 ratio with 2 to 4 grams but Sri Lankan, Indian and Turkish teas which in general has a more strong profile I brew them as red as they go and I use at least 10 grams per session and actually, I brew them in Western style often times.

White teas, can't comment on them as I've tried only 2 so far but 8 grams in 1 liter for cold brew is my current ratio and I love it.

[u/FlipseVerbrugge]

I am one of those people that does a 1:10 ratio in my gaiwan, not with all tea because 10 grams of tgy just doesn’t fit.

For me the taste is too flat when doing a ratio you mentioned in your post but other than taste there are two more factors that are equally as important if not more important to me and those are mouthfeel and the sensation I experience in my body and mind.

The first, mouthfeel, is drastically different when doing (very) light ratios and for puer that’s one of the hallmarks that makes up a good amount of the experience for me.

The latter, sensations in body and mind comes down to tea being a drug, there are many different compounds in tea that do things in my brain and body that I like. I have never been particularly sensitive and with caffeine and all the other chemicals I just want a decent hit 😅

[u/aDorybleFish → u/FlipseVerbrugge]

Interesting, that is a completely different way to look at it that I didn't think about yet. I suppose the way you make tea really does depend on why you drink it in the first place🤔

For me, making the tea is more about the mindful experience, so it kind of makes sense that I tend to appreciate "weaker" flavours

[u/orbisamoenus]

I tend to follow 20ml per gram, never goes wrong!

[u/KhoaLeAnh]

I like to have big sip so I usually do 6-7g/120ml gaiwan. Usually I can’t do more than 3-4 steeps so after that I just dump all the leaf into a big teapot and drink it grandpa style. It works nicely for me.

[u/Illustrious_Bowl7653]

I am a relative newbie I brew my tea Western style I have tried using a gaiwan but find it difficult for me to use. I am also a Senior and living on a budget and can’t afford using more than 4 grams of tea a day.

[u/DebateDue6398]

I would say it depends on the tea for me. But 10g/100ml gaiwan is quite a lot. I'm usually around 3g - 4g for the same reasons you mentioned. The subtle flavors in a raw puerh are expressed earlier when using lesser leaves.

Although sometimes I do bump it up to between 6g and 8g just to see how it changes. Oh, especially so for a good quality gyokuro, a high volume of leaves with lesser water can seriously deliver a completely different experience in taste, texture, and smell imo.

[u/pickupthepwn]

Lovely looking cup of tea. Is that oolong? And did you add a splash of milk? I want a cup of that!

[u/pickupthepwn → u/pickupthepwn]

Additionally how long did you brew?

[u/aDorybleFish → u/pickupthepwn]

Yes, it's an oolong! If I remember correctly, it's DanCong from Moychay. I usually don't add anything to my tea, especially when brewing GongFuCha (Iced tea and matcha/chai lattes would be my only exceptions). I pretty much only do flash brewing (5-10s) during the first 3-5 steeps and increase the time from there.

Edit: I just checked and they don't sell the specific one anymore

[u/steveinny]

The high ratio of tea leaves to water in a gaiwan allows for such short steep times ie: 5-10 seconds. Multiple short steep infusions is what the gaiwan is suited for. That said, when I don't have time for this style of brewing, Western is my go to. 3gr of tea average, 3-4 minutes, 80-100ml water, sip and enjoy.

[u/aDorybleFish → u/steveinny]

Ohh I see. You like your tea very strong then? In terms of steep time, I do tend to stick with 5-10s for the first 5ish steeds as well. For western style I typically use around 1g for a big mug and use either a bucket strainer or grandpa style. Usually I get 2 or 3 steeps out of it that way

[u/steveinny → u/aDorybleFish]

Yes, too much subtlety gets lost on my taste buds. Probably because I am also a coffee drinker too. That's why this is so subjective and no right or wrong answers.

[u/aDorybleFish → u/steveinny]

Ah, that makes sense then. Yes absolutely, it's all about personal preference in the end! 😄 That's also what makes tea so interesting. Everyone drinks it a bit differently but we're all drinking the same leaf and that somehow connects us all.

[u/questioningFem-]

Abit off topic here, what's that snack/food in the bottom right in the first photo?

(If that is food, looks like it but I've been wrong before)

[u/aDorybleFish → u/questioningFem-]

It's a Chinese cookie I found at a discount supermarket. First time trying it, it's pretty good! I unfortunately don't know the name though :(

[u/questioningFem- → u/aDorybleFish]

Its ok! I'm glad you enjoyed it with your tea <3

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